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It was only a few decades years ago that I was a young, energetic, impressionable, naive and gullible little kid. I thought that the world was a wonderful place and that my fellow human beings could do no wrong in my eyes. Yeah, there were a few bad apples here and there but they were the outliers, right? right? Well fast forward a few years decades and I'm now fully aware of the world we live in. People are guilty unless proven innocent. A select few want to control everyone else's destiny and the followers want to do just that and follow every trend (good or bad) that they think will get them the attention that they desperately need.

I've always considered myself an "outsider" in the sense that I just want to live my life and contribute to the planet in a positive way while being able to take care of my family and friends without conforming or selling my soul to achieve success. I've found that this is almost impossible to accomplish. We are sheep and we are herded in many ways by the sheepdogs (Media) at the instruction of the Shepherds (Corporations). They have the power to push and pull us in practically any direction that they want to without us even being aware of what is actually happening. The few people that point out the truth are made to look like "crazies" and 'lunatics" and no one wants to accept the fact that they have very little control of their lives. They are practically running on autopilot and will continue to do so until the day their ashes turn to dust.

Knowing that we live in a matrix of deception and lies is not an easy thing to deal with so most of us find other avenues to distract ourselves from reality. Be it video games, prepping, or immersing ourselves in fictional worlds we all have our own ways of detaching ourselves from reality as often as we can. My distraction is movies. I like to deep dive in Science Fiction films especially those with a great storyline and awesome CGI. There's nothing like seeing someone getting Hulk smashed or Bumblebee'd to get the adrenalin flowing. I love a good SciFi flick and even though I hate going o the Movie theater I will pay good money to see any movie that meets my stringent requirements (great plot, comedic relief, and GPU crushing CGI). I love it when I can offset reality, detach myself from this earthly realm and get whisked away to some imaginary world or dimension for a few hours.

I typically wait for the movies I like to arrive on the streaming services before I watch them since I have a kick-ass surround setup at home and my concession stand (pantry) is way cheaper than those at the theater. Recently though, I got dragged to the Movies on the opening day of a blockbuster that I wouldn't be watching. Knowing that there would be a huge crowd I bought my tickets online to avoid the crush of people that would be herding in to see that film. I was proud of myself when I beat the crowd and walked into the half-empty auditorium about 10 minutes before my movie started. I sat for a short while before the silver screen lit up and moving images flashed before my eyes. It's a surreal experience to sit in front of a 100+ foot screen and absorb the amazing content conjured up by the great minds that dedicated months of their lives to make their dream a reality. As I stated earlier I love a good flick and I was ready to be amazed!

To my horror and dismay, after the announcement about silencing your phone, caring about your fellow man, etc. played  I was bombarded with ad after ad. I even saw an ad for a streaming movie service that showcased, as you guessed, more ads. I swear I saw about 10-15 ads before the actual previews started which in their own right are also ads although we've now accepted them as part of the movie-going experience. I wasn't livid but I really wanted to be. I spent the equivalent of 3 days of lunch money to be bombarded with ads that had nothing to do with the movie and also about things that I would never even think about buying. Is this what the world is coming to? There have been a few forward-thinking movies in recent memory that depicted futuristic worlds dominated by all-powerful corporations who only care about profits at any cost. Is that the world we're in now?

I consider myself a technophile. I love all things technology and live life on the bleeding edge. I have all the smart assistants and a semi-automated home. I even get my groceries delivered so I don't have to interact with people but I'm not ready for a world where we "become the resource". Humanity became what it is by our intellect and social mastery. The direction we are heading in now will eventually lead us down the path of the Borg in the Star Trek series. We will become more of a hive mind than the internet has already made us. 

How does one socialize in an environment where everyone thinks and acts the same. Why do we accept the things that are fed to us by the media and the corporations? When do we say "Stop we've had enough". I've strayed from my original point but when I a self-proclaimed  "Anti-Socialite" think that we need to socialize more you know that there is something wrong. I hope that one day we will look back on this as a growing pain we went through as a society but honestly, I doubt that will happen without the sheeple taking a stand against the sheepdogs and the shepherds and letting them know that if you treat us like animals then we will start acting like them!

My name is Chris and welcome to Mindruse!